444 polling stations in Chennai are vulnerable to electoral offences

Chennai District Election Office has identified 444 polling stations as vulnerable to electoral offences in the 16 Assembly constituencies of the city.

According to data collected by the District Election Office for ‘vulnerability mapping’, slum neighbourhoods on the banks of Buckingham Canal, Adyar and Cooum have a large number of vulnerable polling stations.

In 2011, the city had 3,236 polling stations spread across 16 constituencies. In the 2016 Assembly elections, the number increased by around 500. Ahead of the Assembly elections in 2021, the number of polling stations in the 16 Assembly constituencies of Chennai has increased from 3,754 to 6,123 after the development of additional polling stations because of COVID-19. The number of electors in each of the polling stations will be less than 1,000.

Chennai District Election Office is expected to take measures for rigorous enforcement of the model code of conduct to give confidence to electors belonging to the vulnerable sections in the 444 polling stations ahead of this election.

Officials said the vulnerable polling stations in Chennai are located in areas where residents are likely to be prevented from voting. Most of the vulnerable polling stations in Chennai have been identified by the local police stations based on the list of rowdy elements in the area.

As many as 17 polling stations have been identified as critical in the 16 Assembly constituencies of the city, with more than 75% of the vote going to a single candidate in a polling station with 90% votes polled in the previous election.

Religion and caste are not major issues in vulnerability mapping in Chennai, officials said.